The India Diaries - Part 4

Ahh India. Land of sacred cows, amazing tradition, call centres vegetarian McDonald's. Oh, and plenty of "2-star magnificent luxury hotel". Makes you wonder what a 5-star is described as.

Only 13 more sleeps... yay! And gah! So i've started getting slightly nervous. I've traveled a lot in my young life, but never to a place where my language isn't the first language of everyone else (despite the funny Aussie accent, its still English... kinda), and where I'm afraid the scale and strangeness of the place will overwhelm me. The funny thing is that 5 years ago, I wouldn't have hesitated or felt the slightest inkling of apprehension at traveling alone in a very foreign country. Now, it scares the crap out of me. Is this something that happens with age? And if so, will it continue at this rate for the rest of my life? Will I end up at 40 too scared to leave my house or talk to the delivery guy from the Thai place where I will order all of my meals? This is very much not like to me to be feeling this nervous. I'm not the type to shy away from a challenge or something that scares the crap out of me... but the malaria-ridden mosquitoes in my stomach just won't settle down.

And in other age-related news, my father doesn't know how old I am. This disturbs me a little, especially as he stated quite clearly in an email that I am 2 years younger than I actually am. He should know when I was born, right? He was a main contributor to the event.

The India Diaries - Part 3

Seeing as things are starting to take shape, I figured I'd post a status report on my India Trip:

Immunisations done: Ow - I mean, Yup
Flights booked: Yup
Flights paid for: As of yesterday, yup :)
Passport renewed: Still waiting for the new one to arrive
Visa arranged: Dependant on above
Backpack bought: Yup, and it's HUGE!
Leave booked: Yup... total balance remaining: 0.26 days

So with just over a month to go, things are coming along quite nicely. Yay!

Much fun and very little sleep

I've just returned from the craziness that was the Asia Pacific Blackboard User Conference. Much fun and very little sleep was had by all. It was really really great to get to meet other Blackboardians, as well as the vendors themselves. The conference was at a resort on the sunshine coast, and it had a bar. With karaoke. Not good.

It was also really great to get positive feedback on the presentation I gave, as did another person from the Griffith team. I'm generally not nervous about public speaking but my stomach was doing all sorts of crazy things on the morning of my presentation. My hands were kinda clammy, my mind was whirring, and I more or less figured I would completely suck. I have been to many conference presentations where I've kinda felt sorry for the person speaking because of either their speaking style, a really irrelevant topic, or copious amounts of waffling.

I am very very afraid of being one of these people. I have a theory about why I was nervous about this particular presentation. I have spoken to large groups of both academics and students on different topics related to flexible learning before without even a fruitfly (let alone the monstrous butterflies that were zipping around my stomach for my conference presentation) making an appearance. I've spoken in meetings with pretty senior people from other professional areas. My theory is this: I am perfectly comfortable talking to large groups on topics I know more than them about. It's when I'm talking to people who probably have more knowledge/experience/awareness of the topic that I freak. My margin for bullshit is smaller in these situations.

But, despite feeling like bolting out of the room as soon as the slide with my name came up, an amazing thing happened. I sounded like I knew what the hell I was talking about. All the words and ideas that had been cycloning around my head came out of my mouth in a way that made sense, and people were actually interested in what I had to say. They learned something new too. Yay me!

So my presentation further added to my already growing fame due to the tech day I organised earlier in the week. It's a little frightening to introduce yourself to someone you have never met and have them tell you that they know all about you already. Kinda exposing. I had a few people approach me with compliments about the session, and few people approached my director as well, including Blackboard staff. He took the compliments a little differently was a little firm in saying that they couldn't hire me away from Griffith. He's still a littl touchy over the woman who was in my position before me going to work for Blackboard. I must tell him he has nothing to worry about tho. There is no way I could keep up with the Blackboard guys. I don't think any of them went to sleep before 3am they entire conference. With jetlag from the flight from the US to Australia earlier in the week and 6am starts each day, I'm amazed they were able to function at all. So untill I am able to live on 3 hrs or sleep a night, and drink a lot more than I am currently able, I don't think I'll be going to work for Blackboard.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2004 - Day of Death for turkeys everywhere

My annual forcing of my Canadian traditions upon my unsuspecting friends went off sucessfully last night. The turkey was golden and tasty, the stuffing was yummy and full of currants, and the pumpkin pie, oh the pumpkin pie! Jolyon, Lesley, Alex, Colin, Jocelyn, Megan, Sean, and Maddie all joined me in giving thanks for good food, good friends, and good wine. Well, maybe I gave more thanks for good wine than the others. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are the photographs deamed suitable enough for public viewing. Enjoy!



Your charming hostess for the evening


Le pie d'resistance


Le pie ready for le close-up


Table millings, outside because my appartment is too small and poorly laid out to provide sufficient space for dining indoors. Good thing we weren't in Canada. Brrr!


Colin and Jocelyn. Awwww!


Okay, who hid the forks?


Here they are!


Jolyon pontificates, while Colin ponders, and Jocelyn tried to hide


Jolyon pontificates some more


Jolyon breaks down upon realising the mass slaughter of innocent turkeys which happens every year on the holiday of death (aka Thanksgiving)


Maddie, Sean, and Lesley discuss the finer points of english literature. Who says my parties aren't high-brow!


Shiny happy people


More shiny happy people


Shiny unhappy people


Kudos to Lesley and Jolyon for providing a wind-proof lighting scheme, and pretty too


Spycam... See what lurks in the kitchens of unassuming suburban homes


"What's your toy's name Maddie?"
"Puppy."
"And what's Lesley doing to Puppy?"
"She's killing him! Mwaaahhhh!"


I come to carve zee turkey


Turkey time!


Mmmm... golden brown and full of turkey-fat goodness


Everyone got pretty hosed


Either Colin or the bread is evil... I'm pretty sure its not the bread


Colin Wuz Here


Death to Le Pie!


The consumption of Le Pie


Damn! That's good pie!


Colin gets comfy as the sleep-inducing effects of the turkey tetraheda... tetrahama... tetrahooha... turkey stuff kicks in


Up...


Down...


Ow.


Same time again next year?

The India Diaries - Part 2

Itinerary is now set, after a few last minute changes. I will have to make part of my trip on Sahara Airlines, which scares me a little. Saharia Airlines is a domestic Indian Airline, yet: "Sahara Royale has a unique concept of customised meal offer. The passengers have a choice of Thai, Mexican, Italian, Chinese and continental cuisine. Health food is being incorporated in the special the plan." What, no Indian?

I am displeased

Cursing ever asking for a company cell phone. Cursing inconsiderate academic who is under the impression that 8am-6pm means 24 hour support. I am happy to be contacted at 8pm if the entire system has fallen on its proverbial arse (well, far from happy, but at least understanding). I am NOT happy to be contacted at 8pm because one student can't install a Java plug-in. I know its cold, and I know I should be a caring, supportive, compassionate public servant, but dammit, ONE STUDENT! Grrrrr....

The India Diaries - Part 1

I've been spending an awful lot of time wandering the internet in preparation for spending a month wandering northern India at the end of the year. So many people have been sufficiently taken by their experiences on the sub-continent to write about it. In detail. I am hoping my experiences will be similarly inspiring. In particular, I've read the travelog of a young British woman who has been trekking for almost four months now. I have across her site after reading a post made on the Lonely Planet forums by her very distressed father. It seems she had not made any contact with her family back home or posted in her log for over 3 weeks and they were getting quite worried. As it turns out, she was just in the northern part of Uttar Pradesh where you'd be lucky to find a working toilet, let alone a computer with internet access.

But reading her travelog and looking at the photographs she had posted, I started to get very enamored of the whole idea of living in an ashran, shaving my head, and spending weeks on end in silent meditation. I've been imagining myself arriving in Delhi and being completely swept into the mayhem and mysicism of India. I imagine myself finally getting caught up in spirituality, meditation, and something bigger than myself. I imagine the email I will write to my friends, family, and coworkers telling them I have found home in the monasteries, ashrans, and temples and won't be coming back. Give my regards to Boris and Griffith University. Then reality comes back into play and I see myself enjoying the experience of a culture so unlike my own and of the opportunity to help people through the clinic. It is just a holiday after all. "Annual Leave" from an ordinary nine-to-five life. I wonder if I would even have the courage to leave all that I have worked for behind. We shall see.

The Aussie Bloke, and other cultural wonders

I've decided to keep my posts to one topic per post, so as to keep some semblance of order to the place (hey, I'm just that neat), hence the second post in one sitting.

I've spent the last two Saturdays helping out at a local charity bookstore. Being surrounded by library books which for whatever reason have been discarded by Brisbane City Council libraries is actually rather peaceful, although it does give a frightening insight into the kinds of absolute crap people in this city are reading. If I see another full-to-the-brim box of Mills and Boon romance novels (and I use the term 'novel' very loosely) I think I may retch. How nice to know that this wonderful series, which consists of well over 600 volumes is conveniently categorised into regular, historical, and ahem, medical romance. Medical romance? The last thing that comes into mind when I've been in hospital is thoughts of candlelit dinners and romantic walks down the hospital isles with my surgeon. Grrr... but I digress. Aside from the wonders of travelling to a depressing little suburb called Nundah to sort and shelve chick lit, sci-fi, far too many diet books, I have discovered the wonder that is the Aussie Bloke.

Now, since arriving in this wonderful country almost 5 years ago, I have met many Aussie Men, Aussie Guys, and Aussie Boys, and while I thought I had encountered a few Aussie Blokes in the singleted, beer-drinking folk I encountered when I ventured out of the city, I have now realised, that an encounter with a true Aussie Bloke is charachterised by a sense of wonderment and amusement, tempered by an overwhelming feeling of horror. You see, this charity bookstore employs a number of people who are carrying out community service. Some are lovely people. And some are Aussie Blokes. Over the course of the day, I was amazed to meet 2 Blokes in particular who really personified the term. As I listened to their conversation (and attemped communication myself), I heard the topic of women being dicussed in ways that really did make me want to retch, as though the romance novels weren't enough.

"Ain't no chook gonna make me chase after her."
"Yeah, me missus can suck the balls off'n a bullock."
Over the illustration on the cover of a romance novel: "Yous don't see chicks lookin like this anymore, huh. Nice jawline. Good range."
"Could never go for a coloured chook myself, but would be nice to nail one up!"

There was more, but I think my mind has blocked it out to protect me from further damage. Really, the level of detail these two went into on the topics of women, gay men, asian-australians, and Aboriginals was absolutely disgusting and beyond anything I had ever heard before. The really scary thing is that while I've always associated racism, bigotry, and horrific views of woman to be the domain of ignorant old men too embedded in their fear and hatred to change their views, these two men were in their twenties. They had grown up in the same generation of equality, anti-discrimination legislation, and integration, yet they still hold these twisted views of the world.

It makes me sad and angry that these men could be tolerated and even encouranged by a civilised society. But what could I do? I sent them off to sort the childrens' educational books. Hopefully the bright colours and large text will stimulate them to read something, anything, and maybe learn a little about the world outside of the mind of an Aussie Bloke.

I think, therefore I blog... I think?

First post in my first blog... yay! I am so glad that technology has now afforded me the opportunity to publically air my previously private ponderings (mmm... alliteration).

Thing is, I've kept a journal on and off for the last few years. I have always enjoyed curling up with an odd little notebook of some sort and joting down what happens to be in my head at the moment. I also enjoy going back through old entries and reading what was in my head at that moment. I have found I tend to be far more elequent in my writing than in my speech and the process of putting to paper (or to screen) a muddled medly of thoughts and emotions has a way of clarifying them and providing perspective onto an otherwise murky situation. I take advantage of this phenomenom as often as I am able.

So that is why I write. As for what I will write in this forum, I prefer to keep my most private ramblings just that; private. So instead, in this space I will confine myself to ponderings more suitible for airing in public. While I don't expect that this blog will be wide-read, I'd like to think that it will at some point be read by someone and I'd prefer not to scare that someone with exposure to the purple goo of my innermost thoughts.

So... onwards!